Taking the LSAT Oct 9 in Albuquerque--read this now

[retiree]

If you are taking the LSAT this coming Saturday at the Workforce Training Center (WTC), please be advised of the following:

The International Balloon Festival is going on right now (they estimate 800K+ people for the week), and that will be the final weekend. The roads to the WTC will be barricaded on Saturday morning, just as they were last Sat. morning. If your intent is to get there via Alameda Blvd (and then turn north on San Mateo, down to Eagle Rock), then this is what you need to do:

Go to the WTC front lobby desk between now and Fri, and tell them you are taking the LSAT there on Sat and need the orange traffic balloon fiesta permit card; they will give you one. Then, come Saturday, when you then get off at the Alameda exit from I-25 (do not go to the Tramway exit, as that will take you well over an extra hour or more because of the traffic and the fact the only way into the Balloon Park from the east side is via Tramway) , stay in the left lane. Show your orange card, and the police should let you through. You will find another roadblock at Alameda & San Mateo, but you are turning north onto San Mateo, so that will not be a problem.

I notifed both Kaplan here and their HQ (since they could announce it in their classes here) and LSAC, and did not get a response from anyone, other than a "good luck on your test" from Kaplan. The UNM L.S. admissions office has no access to who is taking the test on Sat, so is unable to help (they would if they could). I have done my best to notify APD.

I did a dry run last Sat, and I live 10 min. from the WTC, and it still took me nearly an hour. So, to be safe, get there way earlier than you think. And, if you know of anyone else taking the test there, please let them know. If people don't know, there will be some very unhappy campers, and I am just trying to alert people to the situation.

In short, leave early, get there early. If you don't have the orange permit, good luck on getting past the police. Perhaps if you show your LSAT admissions ticket, that will work. But I wouldn't take any chances.